Post-fire restoration at Crowdy Bay: Keeping pace with recovery

Post-fire restoration at Crowdy Bay National Park: keeping pace with recovery

Saturday 5 September 2026 | 8:30 for a 9.00 am start – lunch
Kylie’s Beach, Crowdy Bay National Park, NSW

What happens when bush regeneration can follow the needs of the bush – rather than a fixed budget or works schedule?

Join AABR bush regenerator Tom Clarke for a morning at Crowdy Bay National Park exploring what he describes as “textbook regen”: long-term, responsive bush regeneration where the team can return when needed, spend the time required and adjust their work as the ecosystem responds.

The November 2019 fire created an opportunity to observe recovery and succession at close range. Seven years on, Tom and the volunteer team have been watching how the vegetation responds, identifying where intervention is useful and keeping pace with the processes of natural recovery.

As Tom puts it:

“We can go whenever we like, spend as much time as needed. It’s a lovely situation where we are keeping pace with the processes, watching succession. It’s a great opportunity for post-fire knowledge sharing.”

During the morning we’ll walk through several locations around Kylie’s Beach Camp to examine the work undertaken and the results achieved. We’ll talk about site resilience, succession, the strategies used to assist recovery and what years of close observation have taught the team.

It’s also an opportunity to consider a valuable question for bush regeneration practice: when does a site need our help – and when is the best intervention to give natural processes the space and time to do their work?

The visit concludes a week of volunteer bush regeneration at Crowdy Bay National Park, with National Parks Association volunteers carrying out much of the on-ground work. NPWS, as land manager, will round out the morning with a sausage sizzle-style lunch.

Come along to look, listen, compare notes and share knowledge from seven years of post-fire recovery.

Event details
Date: Saturday 5 September 2026
Time: 8:30 meeting for a 9.00 am start to lunch
Meeting point: Kylie’s Beach Carpark, Crowdy Bay National Park
Getting there: Self-drive
Capacity: 20 people

All participants will attend an NPWS risk assessment briefing and sign off before the event.

Places are limited to 20. Book early to join us in the bush.

WHAT TO BRING

Please bring a drink bottle, appropriate bushwalking clothing and PPE (hat, long sleeves and trousers, enclosed shoes, sunscreen, raincoat).